Gabriel Is A Danish Textile Company That Develops: Global Business Environment Essay, DCU, Ireland

Introduction

Gabriel is a Danish textile company that develops, manufactures, and sells high-quality furniture fabrics and related textile products to industrial customers. The company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen stock exchange. In almost all the years of Gabriel’s 160 years history, wool and the treatment of wool have been the company’s core expertise. In the 1960s, a niche market for woolen upholstery fabric began to grow and by 1980 it became Gabriel’s main focus area.

Innovation and value-cooperation are the keywords that define Gabriel’s identity today. With an outset in furnishing fabrics as the core product, Gabriel seeks to become the preferred development partner and supplier to the international market’s leading manufacturers of furniture, seats, and upholstered surfaces.

The 2008/2009 financial year proved to be very difficult for Gabriel. As its revenue dropped 27 percent, the company failed to meet its standard targets for revenue and earnings. This negative earnings performance was prompted by the drastic decline in demand for office and consumer furniture due to the worldwide economic slowdown that hit the world economy in 2008.

Even though international demand for office furniture remained muted in 2009/2010, Gabriel’s revenue was up by 8 percent to DKK 220 million. The revenue increase was driven by new products and services, which stretched Gabriel’s activities beyond their core product, i.e. furniture fabrics. The relocation of the dye factory and warehouse facilities to Lithuania and the constant focus on cost containment also had a positive impact on the latest results and offered future potential.